Dilemma’s

@rusty trawler wrote:

@tom wrote:

YOLO is some illiterate thing those black Americans pretending to be “gangsters” ‘say’…..(even though gangsters wore zoot suits, smoked cigars and lived by a certain code of honour? Sorry. I just looked up real gangers, yet none of them were running around with their Tommy Guns wearing ridiculous synthetic plastic PJ bottoms that only come up to their knees exposing their bum inviting everyone to anal intercourse by the people these days who ‘claim’ to be gansters lol?

Why people pretend to be people they’re obviously not as they look nothing like who they’re claiming to be with no evidence to back their claim up whatsoever absolutely boggles my mind.

Hi. I’m a one limbed Japanese Samurai with only one ogre squinting eye, in the middle of my chest! I cannot prove it, especially since everyone already knows what I look like, but I’m an illiterate modern person who claims to be someone I’m not like Americans and chavs, how sad am I?

lol.

What an idiotic thing to say on so many levels.

YOLO is not ‘some illiterate thing those black Americans’ say. It is more of a neologism associated with the internet age than black people or hip hop / gangster culture, rather like ‘lol’ and ‘rofl’.

The thing that ‘boggles’ my mind is how you appear to feel free to make badly observed assumptions about cultures without actually thinking about it.

When it comes to identity, we all play roles and emphasise certain sides of our character. Which begs the question, are we pretending to be something that we are not or perhaps more complexly are we shaped by our environment? It’s the same for many of those who are influenced by American hip hop culture. And kids from all races are increasingly influenced by hip hop culture. Those who aspire to live the ‘gangster/ thug life’ may do so because it’s one the codes of survival for the area in which they live or they may simple pretend to be Jay Z or Tupac because they think it might impress the girls. The reasons are complex and not necessarily because they are being foolish.

One of the beautiful things about the English language, enabling it to become the lingua franca that it has become, is its ability to be protean and flexible, bending to adapt to the unique needs of different cultures, younger generations etc. Words change their meaning over time. We all know this. If I was to call you gay, Tom, you wouldn’t think I was suggesting that you’re a happy chappy. The word ‘gangster’, like many others, is open to various interpretations. If I’m talking about gangsta rap I’m referring to a specific thing and if I use the gangster term in reference to the films of Humphrey Bogart then I’m surely talking about something else.

I can’t question your claim to be a one-limbed Japanese Samurai. I don’t know you, so who am I to hazard a guess? Likewise I can also use what you have said thus far to help me define how sad I think you are.

=D>

@momentaryloss wrote:

@rusty trawler wrote:

@tom wrote:

Stuff

Other stuff

I would say don’t feed the trolls, it may be fun but it all gets messy eventually. (Before you think I am being high and mighty, I should come clean and say I am not blameless in that regard myself.)

You’ll find yourself accused of being a white hating racist who wants us all to be killed in our beds by Muslims if you are not careful.

Have a look at previous postings if your blood needs some premature boiling.

:(

Lol. I like the tom wrote ‘stuff’ and rusty wrote ‘t’uther stuff’.

You’re right about refraining from replying to things you disagree about for the most part. And I tend to ignore a lot. But sometimes when you put statements under the spotlight people might see the error of their ways. There’s many things said on here that have made me take a good look at how I perceive things.